In this interview, urbanist Mike Davis talks about the rapidly growing emirate of Dubai.
"Home (supposedly) to a quarter of the world's building cranes and to (definitely) its richest and most flamboyant global elite, Dubai is also racked by labor problems.
The New York Times claims that the emirate is in the midst of reform, but Davis is far less sanguine. He sees a world consumed by 'a nightmarish and kind of apocalyptic presentism' that won't mend its ways any time soon."
"[W]hat Dubai has pioneered, and it's quite extraordinary, are modular legal and cultural superstructures. In other words a big part of Dubai's incredibly ambitious development plan are the creation of these specialized cities - science cities, internet cities, chess cities and so on. And each city is fitted with laws and regulations on whatever permissiveness is required for their activities but they're like bubble-tops. They stop at the edge of the city. So for instance internet in the city as a whole is subject some censorship, but not in Internet City," says Davis.
Thanks to Matt Sledge
FULL STORY: Mike Davis on Dubai

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations
Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.

Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean
Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?

Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US
A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont